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Morgan

Morgan Winery was the first stop in our tour of Carmel Valley wineries. It is located in a non-traditional tasting room locale which in this case is a high end shopping center. We arrived first thing in the morning and were eager to see what Morgan had to offer. The winery makes primarily Chards and Pinots with a few Rhone styles wines as well.

Morgan Winery

I am for the most part a red drinker but I really liked the Morgan Chardonnays. Specifically the 09 Highland Chardonnay ($26). I have bought more of this wine since our visit – it is that good. I also really liked the Pinots and bought one of those as well (range in price is $36 – $48). My other favorite in addition to the Chard was the Cotes du Crows ($18) which is a 50/50 Grenache Syrah Blend (I am a big fan of Rhone varietals).

The tasting at Morgan is free. That is super. The funny thing on the morning we did our tasting was that a homeless man also wanted to get his free sample of vino and mix with the patrons a bit. He definitely added some color to our visit. It never would have occurred to me that this would be a risk in a swanky town like Carmel and I now understand why urban cities like San Francisco can’t do free wine tastings.

Downsides? Nothing major. Great wines. A little off the beaten path. Pinots are on the pricier side. Chance of entertaining homeless drunks but that could have been a one time thing.